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In Practice: Juliet's Marketing Wisdom:
Attracting More Clients
Through the Use of Testimonials
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by Juliet Austin |
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As with most aspects of marketing, many helping and healing professionals don’t have an understanding of the importance of using testimonials as a tool in their marketing. And if they do use them, they are often used ineffectively.
Testimonials, when used effectively, can be one of the most powerful aspects of your marketing message. They can be the thing that encourages a hesitant potential client to take action by picking up the phone and calling you.
What is a Testimonial?
A testimonial is a statement made by your client or customer describing his or her positive experiences with your product or service.
Why Testimonials are Essential to Marketing Effectively
The goal of an effective marketing message is to convince your prospective clients that you are the person that they need to see in order to get help with their problems. After you have shown that you understand your potential clients problems and indicate the benefits of your services, you must “prove” to them that you are the best person for them to do business with. You must eliminate any fear that they have about hiring you. Testimonials are one of the best ways to do this.
Testimonials add credibility to your message and illustrate to prospective clients that if someone else had positive results after working with you, then it’s possible for them to have good results as well.
The Content and Structure of Testimonials
Testimonials should, in most cases, begin with the “problem(s)” the client was having at the time he or she made contact with you and then describe the concrete solutions/outcomes/benefits the client received from using your product or service.
The more specific the testimonial is, the better. For example, instead of saying, “Susan helped me with my problems in my marriage,” a well –written testimonial would say, “ Susan helped my partner and I learn how to communicate better. We now understand and listen to each other a whole lot more, and as a result, our constant bickering has stopped. We are happier with one another and our relationship is a lot more harmonious.”
Testimonials can also describe what it was like to work with you as a counselor or healer, but this should not be the focus of the testimonial.
Types of Testimonials
Most often testimonials are included on your marketing materials. They can be used on websites, brochures, sales letters, flyers or other promotional materials. However, with the various technologies now available for the web, increasingly people are using audio and sometimes even video for their testimonials. This gives your website visitors the added option of listening to the person’s voice and perhaps even seeing the person, which can add even more credibility.
The best testimonials come from clients or customers—the users of your products or services. However, if getting testimonials from clients is a problem (see ethical concerns below) you can also get them from other professionals who know your work-- referral sources, or others within your community.
Ways of Gathering Testimonials
The best testimonials are “unsolicited.” Unsolicited testimonials are those you get from clients and customers naturally without asking for them. For example. perhaps a client sends you an email through the course of your work together or spontaneously expresses his or her thoughts while working with you in a session. In the latter case, you should always write down what clients tell you about how they have been helped so that you can later get permission to use these statements in your marketing materials. When you use unsolicited testimonials, you can identify them as such because they will often have more credibility than solicited testimonials.
While unsolicited testimonials may have more credibility, solicited testimonials are still very common and effective. When gathering solicited testimonials, it is best to get them right after a client has articulated the benefits he or she has received, or at the end of your work with the client. If you leave it too long, the client will forget most of the details of his or her experience with you. He or she will remember that the experience was positive, but he or she often won’t be able to articulate the specific details.
There are various options for gathering testimonials from clients. For example, you can get clients to fill out a client satisfaction survey, interview them when they have completed their work with you, or record their comments throughout your work with them and then put them together in a testimonial format.
You can also ask clients to write testimonials for you-- although this method can be problematic in that you are creating work for the client and he or she may not be a great writer. Even if the client benefited greatly from your services, he or she may not be able to articulate it in writing.
My preferred method is to interview clients while audio recording them. I can then put the testimonial in writing and then run it by clients for their approval before using it on my promotional materials.
Where to Place Testimonials
Testimonials should be used on all of your promotional materials (brochures, websites, brochures, flyers, etc). They can either be woven into the text and/or you can designate a particular section on your website or brochure to place the testimonials. I like to weave them into the text in order to back up points I am making in my copy (text). This gives credibility to the claims I am making about my services and breaks up the copy so that it is more interesting to read.
Ethical Concerns About Using Testimonials
Some helping and healing professionals have ethical concerns about using client testimonials. This is a valid concern particularly in cases where professional and regulating bodies do not permit members to utilize client testimonials in their marketing materials. Obviously, you will always want to follow the guidelines outlined by your professional or regulating body.
Assuming that your professional body allows testimonials, you still need to choose your clients carefully and make sure they don't feel pressured or obligated to provide a testimonial for you.
Always get permission before using client testimonials. While using full names of the client is always best, if your client is uncomfortable with using his or her full name you could use only his or her initials or allow him or her to remain anonymous.
If you are not comfortable at all using client testimonials or are restricted from doing so by your professional association or regulating body, you might want to use testimonials from employers, colleagues and referral sources.
Testimonials can make all the difference with your credibility in terms of the message you put out to clients. If you are not using testimonials effectively in your marketing materials, perhaps this article will motivate you to begin doing so as soon as possible. |
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Juliet Austin, MA
Marketing Coach, Consultant & Copywriter
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Juliet Austin has a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology and worked as an educator, researcher and counselor for over 20 years.
In the late 90's Juliet completed a career change into the field of marketing when she Graduated from CoachU, The Institute of Life Coach Training and became a member of the School of Coaching at Coachville. Juliet also completed numerous courses and classes on marketing, Internet marketing and website copywriting and promotion.
She is a member of several professional organizations including The International Association of Coaches, The Canadian Counselling Association, Healers in Business and The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies.
As a Marketing Coach, Consultant and Copywriter, Juliet assists healing professionals and socially responsible business owners who are struggling to attract clients or sell their products. She helps her clients in overcoming resistances to marketing, develop and implement no or low-cost marketing strategies for both on and off the Internet, write compelling website copy and promote their websites.
Juliet writes for several publications both on and off the Internet. Her articles have appeared in publications in Canada, the US and in Australia. In addition, she is also co-author with Sue Bond of the ebook: How To Become A Coach: A Guide for Therapists and Counselors.
Juliet also leads workshops and teleclasses on various marketing topics for those involved in the spiritual, metaphysical and healing arts.
Assisting healing professionals in marketing a practice has become a creative and intellectual form of self-expression for Juliet. Being an ideas person who thrives on change and variety, she is constantly developing new projects. Her ongoing quest for knowledge as well as the passion she has for marketing and her work with her clients ensures that she stays current with cutting-edge on and off-line marketing methods.
Juliet is the author of the Free Report, " 67 Surefire Ways To Attract Clients" which you can get at:
www.julietaustin.com
For more information about Juliet's services, visit her website at:
www.julietaustin.com
or one of her blogs at:
www.marketingaprivate
practice.com
and:
www.websitedesignand
promotion.com
Juliet can also be reached at:
604.730.1838
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